Long in the tooth, down at the mouth: What's become of KEP/KEEP toothpaste?
March 2, 2008 7:17 PM Subscribe
During the late 1980s, when I lived in Los Angeles, I found a toothpaste that I loved. The brand name was Kep, with a bar over the "e" to give it a long sound like "keep." In the early 1990s, the name changed to "Keep." Whither this tasty toothpaste?
Does anyone else remember this toothpaste or know what became of it? If you used it, what substitutes have you found? Could it have been acquired by another company and had its name changed again? Any web sites devoted to obscure brands you might recommend? I've been striking out .
The packaging labeled it as a smoker's toothpaste but it never seemed too abrasive. The toothpaste was pink with stripes, IIRC, but I think the box was white with red letters. It tasted clean and friendly, but not overtly minty or citrousy.
Kep was hard, but not impossible, to find. In LA I bought it at a convenience store in a Westwood office building run by a Vietnamese family (my coworkers all loved it too). Elsewhere I would find it in family-owned pharmacies and only rarely in the chain stores. I haven't seen it in at least 8 or 10 years.
Thanks for your help!
Does anyone else remember this toothpaste or know what became of it? If you used it, what substitutes have you found? Could it have been acquired by another company and had its name changed again? Any web sites devoted to obscure brands you might recommend? I've been striking out .
The packaging labeled it as a smoker's toothpaste but it never seemed too abrasive. The toothpaste was pink with stripes, IIRC, but I think the box was white with red letters. It tasted clean and friendly, but not overtly minty or citrousy.
Kep was hard, but not impossible, to find. In LA I bought it at a convenience store in a Westwood office building run by a Vietnamese family (my coworkers all loved it too). Elsewhere I would find it in family-owned pharmacies and only rarely in the chain stores. I haven't seen it in at least 8 or 10 years.
Thanks for your help!
Probably no help at all but kēp is apparently a Chinese word that translates to cheek or jaw. So def a good name for a toothpaste. That being said, when I try to find anything, especially if I try to include info about Zact... all I get are hits from I Can Has Cheezburger.
posted by aristan at 8:13 PM on March 2, 2008
posted by aristan at 8:13 PM on March 2, 2008
Best answer: It's sold here, with Google's translation of the Japanese here.
posted by iconomy at 8:30 PM on March 2, 2008
posted by iconomy at 8:30 PM on March 2, 2008
Response by poster: Thanks so much, everyone, especially iconomy for the source info; I bow to your superior google-fu. As the translation site says... "Brisk and refreshing flavor to refresh your mouth! Also, in your electric toothbrush.
I'm going to try to order some today.
posted by carmicha at 1:35 PM on March 3, 2008
I'm going to try to order some today.
posted by carmicha at 1:35 PM on March 3, 2008
Response by poster: Oh, and miss lynnster, i may try Zact as well based on your recollection. And artisan, thanks for the initial translation too. c
posted by carmicha at 1:38 PM on March 3, 2008
posted by carmicha at 1:38 PM on March 3, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
I'm not sure why, but I keep thinking it ended up becoming Zact. I could be totally wrong, but that's what my brain suddenly told me for reasons I cannot explain. It could be a brain anneurism, and I could be totally wrong tho.
posted by miss lynnster at 7:38 PM on March 2, 2008